Ben Affleck — director and star of this year’s hit Argo, produced by Warner Bros. (NYSE:TWX) — is Entertainment Weekly’s 2012 Entertainer of the Year.
Affleck first appeared on screen in 1981’s The Dark End of the Street. His first real star turns came in 1997 with Good Will Hunting, which he co-wrote and starred in with Matt Damon. That same year he also was the lead in Kevin Smith’s Chasing Amy.
The 40-year-old Affleck is considered a strong Oscar contender for Argo, a film about a secret CIA mission to rescue Americans trapped in Iran in 1980. The film earned more than $148 million worldwide on a $44.5 million budget and currently is rated at 95% fresh at Rotten Tomatoes.
Said Affleck in Entertainment Weekly:
“When you’re younger and have the early success that I had — it sounds like the worst Hallmark cliche — but I didn’t have anyone to share it with. I don’t mean I wanted someone to sit by the fire with. But when you have a family and children, you kind of see yourself reflected in them. I want to make the kinds of movies that my kids are proud of. I have higher standards, in a way, for them.”
Next up for Affleck? He’s in the upcoming pictures To the Wonder; Runner, Runner; and Focus.
